Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Carteret, NC and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $2,709 in Cape Carteret, NC, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Cape Carteret, NC
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Cape Carteret, NC Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Cape Carteret, NC

🇺🇸 United States

$2,709

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Carteret, NC and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Carteret, NC and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,709 in Cape Carteret, NC versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Cape Carteret, NC $2,709
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,716 in Cape Carteret, NC versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Cape Carteret, NC $3,716
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,722 in Cape Carteret, NC versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Cape Carteret, NC $4,722
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Cape Carteret, NC is roughly 14% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Carteret, NC 100% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.95 $17.95

$17.89 €15.92

0.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.1 $89.1

$66.2 €58.9

34.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.15 $12.15

$13.69 €12.18

-11.25%

Cappuccino

$5.91 $5.91

$3.06 €2.72

93.14%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 $2.78

$3.07 €2.73

-9.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 $2.06

$1.94 €1.73

6.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.04 $6.04

$3.87 €3.44

56.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.95 $6.95

$4.61 €4.10

50.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.30 €1.16

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.20 $3.20

$2.10 €1.87

52.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.30 $5.30

$1.83 €1.62

189.62%

Eggs

$4.82 $4.82

$4.62 €4.11

4.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.38 $10.38

$17.36 €15.44

-40.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.04 $10.04

$9.28 €8.25

8.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.65 $18.65

$19.83 €17.64

-5.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.47 $2.47

$3.01 €2.68

-17.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 $1.61

$2.03 €1.81

-20.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.94 $4.94

$2.65 €2.36

86.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.81 $5.81

$2.87 €2.55

102.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 $2.24

$2.16 €1.92

3.70%

Onion (1kg)

$4.43 $4.43

$2.15 €1.91

106.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.47 €1.31

21.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 $2.33

$0.88 €0.79

164.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.47 $9.47

$6.93 €6.16

36.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.12 $12.12

$7.83 €6.96

54.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.39 €1.24

32.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 $2.12

$2.63 €2.34

-19.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.81 $1.81

$2.91 €2.59

-37.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.61 $4.61

$3.00 €2.66

53.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 $1.32

$1.44 €1.28

-8.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.14 $20.14

$33.20 €29.53

-39.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 $1.00

$1.86 €1.65

-46.24%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$27.7K $27.7K

$32.3K €28.8K

-14.39%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.3K $26.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

-17.17%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$211 $211

$183 €163

15.64%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$59.8 $59.8

$13.61 €12.11

339.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.3 $67.3

$32.93 €29.29

104.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.20 $44.20

$54.7 €48.65

-19.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$9.13 $9.13

$11.23 €9.99

-18.70%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,596 $1,596

$954 €849

67.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K $16.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

-3.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.0 $61.0

$86.0 €76.5

-29.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.26 $47.26

$39.11 €34.78

20.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 $116

$104 €92.2

12.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 $111

$119 €106

-6.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,643 $1,643

$1,695 €1,508

-3.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,446 $1,446

$1,276 €1,135

13.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,879 $2,879

$2,576 €2,291

11.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,870 $1,870

$1,922 €1,710

-2.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,119 $3,119

$7,281 €6,477

-57.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,615 $2,615

$5,010 €4,456

-47.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.57

3.28

100.30%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cape Carteret, NC: October 20, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cape Carteret, NC

$1.4K 53.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 11.7% $169

Groceries & Markets

Cape Carteret, NC

$379 14%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 14.3% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Carteret, NC

$338 12.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 32.2% $109

Eating Out

Cape Carteret, NC

$314 11.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 14.3% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Carteret, NC

$151 5.6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 3.7% $5.6

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Carteret, NC

$62 2.3%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 23.5% $15

Getting Around

Cape Carteret, NC

$18 * 0.7%

Barcelona

$47 2% 157% $29

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,643 in Cape Carteret, NC and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $89.0 in Cape Carteret, NC vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Cape Carteret, NC

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:49 12:49 AM

06:49 6:49 AM

6 h ahead of Cape Carteret, NC

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Carteret, NC Barcelona 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Carteret, NC
Barcelona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cape Carteret, NC vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Carteret, NC and Barcelona differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($2,709 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,064 in Cape Carteret, NC and $3,571 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,643 in Cape Carteret, NC versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,596 in Cape Carteret, NC versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $89.0 in Cape Carteret, NC. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cape Carteret, NC and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Cape Carteret, NC. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.